Sunday, April 27, 2014

A New Shawl Started!

Well, if you are in Australia you would have enjoyed two long weekends in a row with the weekend of the 18th being Easter and then this weekend just gone we had Friday off to commemorate ANZAC Day and the soldiers who gave their lives in various wars. Easter weekend I started a new shawl but found the pattern just too difficult for me, like trying to climb Everest when you've only just achieved climbing a large hill. What to do? Change patterns, the difficult shawl can be attempted down the track when I'm more confident with different crochet stitches. The new shawl pattern I chose is called Julietta and is designed by Bernadette Ambergen, the pattern can be found on Ravelry. It's a great pattern, looks complicated but is really quite simple once you get it started. See below for my progress photos. I fell in love with the pattern when I saw Chandi from Expression Fiber Arts start one on Instagram in a lovely pink, she has some lovely yarns so be sure to check them out - http://www.expressionfiberarts.com/

For this pattern I still had the Merino/Silk yarn I used for my first shawl and decided to use this as I'd like to gift it to my mum for Mother's Day (fingers crossed I get it done by the end of May when she visits me), Mum loves blues and I think this will be perfect for her. This is such a joy to make that I will make more of the Julietta shawl for my cousins in lavender and pale mauve.

What are you working on at the moment? I'm starting to plan a lot of projects I'd like to try this year and into next year. Last week I came to the brave decision to leave my university studies, after a number of years studying I ran out of steam. All is not lost though as I had enough credit points to be eligible to graduate later this year with a DARTS (Diploma of Arts). I can't begin to explain what a weight lifted off my shoulders, it's taken me 12 months to have the courage to make this decision as I was worried what others would say if I gave up but I've had great support from family and friends and know it was the right decision to be made.

I also had a sad event with the suicide of one of my cousins, it was very sad and not the first time I've experienced suicide. It's frustrating because sometimes no matter what you do you can't prevent this from happening but it's still important to look out for family, friends and strangers ask the awkward question of "are you ok?" and be prepared to listen and provide support if needed. Remember pay attention to those around you, talk, listen, hug, say "I love you" sometimes this is all that is required to bring someone back from the edge.

On a positive note, I received a call from my best friend who lives in Sydney and she and her husband are now expecting their first child and the baby might just arrive on my Birthday in October. I'm so excited and now planning to make a ripple blanket and perhaps a baby jacket. I'd also love to crochet a beautiful christening gown as well. Lucky for me this weekend Spotlight was having 40% off their yarn so I picked up some lovely pastels for the ripple blanket and some bamboo/cotton baby yarn to make a little jacket which should be light enough to wear over the spring/summer when baby arrives. I will probably check with Chandi on a suitable silk yarn to buy for the christening gown once I decide on a pattern.

About Me

Welcome, a couple of years ago I decided to take up crochet again, I couldn't read patterns and struggled to make a granny square...
I cannot believe how much I've learned and grown as a crocheter. My advice to you if you are new to crochet is if you love it just stick with it, there will be many failures but there will be great achievements too and the fun of it all is sharing. Lets get crocheting!
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